MEC Trooper
The MEC Trooper is a new Soldier Class introduced in XCOM: Enemy Within. XCOM Database Soldiers at Squaddie rank or higher can undergo augmentation in the Cybernetics Lab to become MEC Troopers. They will gain access to new training options as well as the ability to deploy a MEC in combat. They will retain their ranks; however they will abandon their former classes in the process. MEC Troopers cannot enter battle unless they have a MEC equipped. Class Creation MEC Troopers are not generated at random during Rookie promotion like other class assignments, but are created by augmenting soldiers in the Cybernetics Lab. Rookies and Psionic soldiers are ineligible for augmentation. Converting a soldier to a MEC Trooper is a permanent class change. They lose their abilities and Gene Mods, but retain their stats, rank and experience. MEC Troopers have stat growth similar to Heavies, so it may be preferable to postpone the conversion of other classes until they are a Colonel (this applies most to Snipers, who get large amounts of Aim per promotion). As part of the augmentation process, soldiers replace their arms and legs with cybernetic limbs. It costs and to transform a soldier into a MEC Trooper, and they are removed from active duty for 3 days while this takes place. It is possible to augment wounded soldiers, reducing their time out of action to only the time spent in the Cybernetics Lab. MEC Troopers remain human enough to be affected by Psionic abilities, including Mind Control, but cannot be genetically modified or undergo Psi testing. Equipment A MEC Trooper does not use regular equipment like other classes but instead utilizes a Mechanized Exoskeleton Cybersuit in combat. MECs grant MEC Troopers significant health and Will bonuses, access to heavy weaponry and advanced Tactical Subsystems, as well as immunities to fire and poison. They also gain the Hardened trait. MEC Troopers wear their Base Augments before receiving and when otherwise outside of a MEC Suit. Abilities Upon undergoing augmentation, MEC Troopers gain a special Inherited Ability based on their previous class: Additionally, MEC Troopers gain experience and ranks conventionally and have their own unique training tree: Weapons MEC Troopers employ specialized weaponry: Source: Tactical Info, XCOM: Enemy Within In comparison to the "standard" rifles used by Rookies, Supports (and Assaults), MEC weapons provide a +2 base damage bonus and a +4 Crit damage bonus. This effectively raises the MEC's weapon by one tech level (i.e. the damage output of the Minigun matches that of the Laser Rifle); their damage within a given tech level is surpassed only by the Sniper's Headshot ability, which is able to inflict comparable critical damage to targets, but with much greater frequency. Abilities / Upgrades *Ammo Conservation (Foundry): Increase ammo capacity by 100%. *Collateral Damage (Ability): Expend 2 ammo to destroy terrain. *Expanded Storage (Ability): Increase ammo capacity by 50%, stacks with Ammo Conservation. *Vital-Point Targeting (Ability): +2 Damage against all humans (EXALT) and autopsied aliens. Builds & Tactics MEC Troopers have the most complex skill builds of any soldier class, as you can customize both the class you turn into the MEC (affecting the Inherited Ability), the skills, and the active abilities of their MEC. For the best results, you should try to use all of these together for a common purpose. 'Advanced Fire Control vs. Automated Threat Assessment' *Advanced Fire Control is functionally identical to Opportunist, other than the inability to crit. *Since MEC weapons are comparatively strong to normal ones, reaction fire that hits will often kill weaker enemies in one hit. * The benefit from Automated Threat Assessment ends if the MEC takes an Overwatch shot, further reducing its utility. * Automated Threat Assessment is mainly used when a Kinetic Strike Module MEC Trooper falls short a few tiles of an alien in full cover. A normal shot would would most likely miss so instead of wasting precious ammo the MEC trooper can go into Overwatch to increase its defense to 25, which is more than half cover, and punish the alien if it were to try to run away. This defense is further increased to 45 with Body Shield, which is more than full cover. *Advanced Fire Control is preferred for most cases, except possibly when building a 'tank' MEC, and then only if you also take Body Shield. 'Vital-Point Targeting vs. Damage Control' *MECs can't use cover, and the enemy AI seems to prefer to shoot enemies with a high chance for it to hit. A MEC can therefore easily be fired on 2-3 times per turn in a firefight, and most of those shots will hit. Damage Control can therefore effectively give the MEC circa 4-6 health per turn while it's fighting. *Vital-Point Targeting does not apply to abilities like the Flamethrower, Proximity Mines, or Grenade Launcher, and instead only the standard shots themselves. Having a damage range of 6-8 with a default Minigun is very lethal to most early-game enemies, and by late game generates a reliable source of 10-damage hits, and up to two to three times per turn. *While Damage Control is good, the amount of damage mitigated compared to taken is not very appealing. The ability of Thin Men to do 6-9 damage means that two consecutive critical hits will still kill a Level 1 MEC. Enemies afterwards do even more damage, so the ability simply prolongs life by a marginal amount. 'Jetboot Module vs. One For All' *Jetboots can be used to reach high ground and get good fields of fire over the map. *Jetboots can also be used to close distance with the enemy more quickly by moving straight over normally impassable terrain, making it good for Kinetic Strike MECs as well. *One for All is an active, but more potent version of the Alloy S.H.I.V.'s ability Hardened Shell. *The One For All effect is cancelled if the MEC fires, moves or uses any other low-tier abilities; this includes shots fired from Overwatch. High-tier abilities such as Grenade Launcher do not cancel the effect. *It is possible to have a MEC do nothing during a turn. Simply move every other unit as you see fit, then hit the "end turn" button ("backspace" on PCs or "back" on XBox). *Two units clustered together are an almost certain trigger for the AI to break out the grenades. 'Repair Servos vs. Expanded Storage' *You can gain greater healing than Repair Servos by using Expanded Storage with the MEC-2 ability Restorative Mist. Repair Servos can heal up to 6 health, whereas Expanded Storage + Restorative Mist heals 4 per use for two uses, for a total of 8 points of healing. This rises to 6 per use for 12 total after researching Improved Medikit. Restorative Mist heals in a small AoE instead of just healing the MEC. However, it requires an action to use, as opposed to Repair Servos, which is passive. *Expanded Storage also grants more ammo for the MEC's primary weapon and more uses for Grenade Launcher and Proximity Mine Launcher. *If you took Grenade Launcher for your MEC-2 ability, you might prefer Repair Servos for a balance of healing and offense, but the extra grenade from Expanded Storage might also be useful. 'Absorption Fields vs. Reactive Targeting Sensors' *MECs have very high health pools and are Hardened. This means that the bonus from Absorption Fields will almost never apply (on normal difficulty), as nearly nothing does more than 33% of a MECs health in one hit without critting. This is less the case on classic difficulty, and almost moot on impossible. Thus, consider Absorption Fields comparable to the Assault's Resilience ability. *Reactive Targeting Sensor depletes ammo fast, sometimes against insignificant targets that shoot at the MEC and with a very low chance of actually hitting back if the target is properly covered and protected. *It is not known if aim bonuses from Advanced Fire Control or Platform Stability affect the Reactive Targeting Sensors shot. *Absorption Fields is a weird ability that scales backwards, becoming less and less powerful as your HP bar increases. It is vital to the survival of a brand-new MEC-1 late game and is nearly useless to a fully upgraded MEC. It also contributes to weird occurrences such as a Sectopod hitting an baseline MEC for 4 damage with a cannon that can normally do up to 15 damage. 'Suggested Builds' Ultimately, a MEC Trooper should be built to suit the player's play style and complement the abilities of the squad. Eg. A MEC Trooper built in the early game can still be trained in a way so that it can be effective late game. An understanding of the capabilities of the player's squad and the various builds and abilities of MEC Troopers is required before choosing any build. Sniper/Explosive MEC: Use a Sniper as the MEC Trooper base, and pick the skills Advanced Fire Control, Vital Point Targeting, Jetboot Module, Expanded Storage and Reactive Targeting Sensors. Give it a MEC suit with Flamethrower, Grenade Launcher and Proximity Mine Launcher. This MEC jetboots to high ground with good fields of fire, and remains stationary as much as possible while firing explosives and its main gun. When you attain Major rank you can also fire your main weapon twice, with two bonus damage per shot and 10% extra hit/crit chance. Overwatch accuracy is also boosted, along with giving it free reaction fire to a target that fires back. Assault MEC: Use an Assault as the MEC Trooper base, and pick the skills Advanced Fire Control, Damage Control, Jetboot Module, Expanded Storage and Absorption Fields. Give it a MEC suit with Kinetic Strike Module, Restorative Mist and Electro Pulse. This MEC should be played by running straight into groups of enemies and either kinetic striking or Electro Pulsing. Its skills will help it 'tank' the damage it receives as it draws fire from the rest of the squad. It's also very good at killing the more difficult robots in the game, like Sectopods and Mechtoids as it can stun them for one turn and deal massive damage with the kinetic strike. Getting the foundry upgrades MEC Close Combat and Advanced Servomotors is very important for this build, as it will get you a higher chance of killing your target in one turn. Beware enemies that have a death explosion, as they can deal heavy damage to your MEC. You can also replace the base class with a Heavy according to personal preference. Early Game Blaster MEC: Use any rank of Heavy as the MEC Trooper base, but try to get this MEC built as soon as possible. Take abilities Automated Threat Assessment, Expanded Storage, One for All, and Overdrive. On the MEC take the Flamethrower, Grenade Launcher, and Proximity Mine Launcher. This setup optimizes you for early game dominance. The defense abilities allow this MEC to avoid and/or shrug-off early game attacks with impunity. The area-based attacks are enough to kill or cripple most early and mid-game enemies. However, late game (even with upgrades), the player will find both this MEC's damage and defense options waning when compared to alternatives. Late Game Hunter-Killer MEC: Save 210 Meld to build this MEC in the late game. Get a Sniper to Colonel rank before augmenting to MEC Trooper (that way their Aim is 105, not 75). Take abilities Advanced Fire Control, Vital Point Targeting, Jetboot Module, Expanded Storage, Overdrive, and Reactive Targeting Sensors. On the MEC, take the Kinetic Strike Module, Restoration Mist, and Electro Pulse. This MEC will primarily use its main weapon, firing twice per turn, and still getting a (3rd) free reaction shot. The MEC will have incredible mobility, improved ammo storage, and the ability to stun Sectopods. Everything about this build is oriented toward late-game dominance. Duelist MEC: A mix of the two above, using the same Hunter-Killer skill and gear package, but with increased focus on defense by utilizing a Heavy, compensating the low accuracy growth by converting as early as Corporal. A decent way to get by until the first Colonel Sniper is ready. Notably, when facing off against a Sectopod, the Body Shield gives a stable reduction of chance to be hit, as the Drones are usually blown away by the first grenade or rocket you use. Sentinel MEC: '''Only use this MEC if you need a tight squad. Augment a Support class. Pick Flamethrower and Proximity Mines - Restorative Mist is recommended, but not necessary as Grenade Launcher has its benefits in this build too. Pick anything for Corporal (preferably Automated Threat Assessment), Vital-Point Targeting, whichever one suits you for Lieutenant, Expanded Storage, and Reactive Targeting Fire. You will be able to take out Chryssalid "Zerg rushes" with flamethrowers. Considering your nearby allies should be in cover and distorted, your MEC should be the main target - which is why Reactive Targeting Sensors is almost necessary. As for optimal Foundry upgrades, rush Shaped Armor if not playing on Easy, and Jellied Elerium when you're getting to the Chryssalids. Advanced Servomotors isn't quite as important due to the fact that you don't really need to move. Concentrate fire on higher threat targets, while leaving the MEC's squadmates to take care of the weaker enemies before aiding the MEC. '''When Fighting Psionic Enemies Players should be extraordinarily careful with their MEC/MECs if they are fighting enemies with the Mind Control ability. MECs have no pistol option to switch to like a Heavy Class and carry almost as much, if not more weaponry and have large, if not larger caliber guns. Thus, having a Mind Controlled MEC is a highly dangerous proposition and is made all the more possible by the fact players cannot equip MECs with Mind Shields, or gene mod them with the Neural Dampening. Thus, it is recommended for players to take the precaution of only choosing soldiers with high Will to augment, to at least make the Mind Control more difficult. There is also the option of emptying the MEC's primary weapon using Collateral Damage or by simply firing at the Psionic Enemy in question. This would at least deprive the MEC of some offensive options, should it be mind controlled. Although, given the variety of weapons on a fully upgraded MEC, it may be easier if the MEC simply stayed out of Line of Sight, until needed for that ext3ra damage. Notes *MEC Troopers earn half the regular experience for kills. This means it is advantageous to pick a soldier who is as high-ranked as possible for the augmentation procedure (Colonel if possible), otherwise the leveling up process can take almost twice the usual time; the high damage weapons and AoE Subsystems available to MECs often allow MEC Troopers to rack up multiple kills quicker/easier during a mission, especially in the early game, which works to offset this handicap. *MEC Troopers can't open doors silently; they bash through them. Furthermore, they cannot open 2 tile shutter doors at all. *Like SHIVs, MEC Troopers gain no benefit from cover. *MEC Troopers can be healed by both Medikits and S.H.I.V. Repair-upgraded Arc Throwers. *MEC Troopers cannot be equipped with Mind Shield, and are therefore vulnerable to being Mind Controlled. Trivia *Soldiers that have undergone the procedure use a different set of voices (2 per gender), all emotionless, deeper, filtered ("robotic") and using more formal lexicon, except for special characters such as Zhang, who keep their original voices. *If zooming into the Barracks from the "ant farm" view, one can see augmented soldiers occasionally running on the treadmills. Which seems like a pointless activity, as such physical exercise would only wear down mechanical parts faster. *"Bellator in Machina" is Latin for "Warrior in the Machine". *The in-game XCOM Database specifies that the augmented MEC metal skeleton was designed so that soldiers could perform typical, regular-life tasks once the war was over to regain a semblance of normal life. Gallery XCOM_EW_MECTrooper_Augmentation.png|A MEC Trooper receives his Base Augments. XCOM(EW) Screenshot8.jpg|A MEC Trooper watches construction of a MEC in the Cybernetics Lab. XCOM(EW) Medals MECTrooper.jpg|A MEC Trooper wearing her dress uniform. XComEW_MEC_Trooper_punches_Mechtoid.png|A MEC Trooper in a MEC hits a Mechtoid in the face. Category:Soldier Classes Category:MEC (XCOM: Enemy Within)